NEWTON COUNTY – Newton County has terminated its fire chief Michael Conner and fire inspector Glenn Mikos.

According to a statement from Newton County, the decision to terminate Conner and Mikos “was a result of a detailed investigation conducted by the County Manager [Harold Cooper].” It was also written in the same statement that “Newton County is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards to ensure the trust of the community's most valuable resource, the residents.”

There was no specific reason for the terminations of Conner or Mikos given in the statement. 

It was reported back in October that former fire chief Conner had been under investigation into a potential conflict of interest after the department had purchased dive equipment from Into The Blue Scuba.

According to the dive shop’s website, former fire instructor and dive team member Mikos is listed as the owner and lead instructor of the company.

During the investigation, it was also reported that Conner had been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation. 

The Covington News confirmed those reports with Newton County’s public information officer, Bryan Fazio.

Fazio said Conner was on paid administrative leave from Oct. 19 to Nov. 2. Conner was terminated following his paid administrative leave, with Mikos being terminated on Friday, Nov. 3.

Fazio declined to comment further on the reason for termination, but did comment regarding the future of the Newton County Fire Department.

“We’re [Newton County] confident that the men and women of our fire services will continue to provide the safety and services they are so well noted for as we move forward and begin the search for our next fire chief,” Fazio said.